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"Maybe Blake was right," muttered Jaune as he finished the last patient of the day, dismissing the rest of his staff.
Sure, his workload had lessened quite a bit with Arvo taking over office manager and Elen taking half of his workload of customers. But he did find himself getting more tired as the days passed. Physically, he was fine, but mentally... he felt tired. Not to mention the fact that he was using Aura every single day. Despite his naturally large Aura reserves, he was still a novice at it who had just recently had his Aura unlocked. He hadn't dealt with Aura exhaustion before, and none of the books he read had gone into it. It was something more of common sense that a person suffering Aura exhaustion should take a day or two off, depending on a person's Aura reserves as well as how long the said person had his Aura unlocked. There were three factors for the rate recovering from Aura exhaustion. They are the amount in the reserves, rate of recovery of Aura, and the amount of time someone had their Aura unlocked.
And considering Jaune's reserves were larger than most Huntsmen and Huntresses, had not learned how to recover Aura through meditation or other means besides sleep, and had only unlocked his Aura for roughly 3 quarters of a semester, the amount of time required to fully recover from his daily Aura massages was a few days with minimal use of Aura. That or a full day without using Aura.
While it was true that he wasn't using Aura for fighting purposes, he was still using a large amount of it to near Aura exhaustion for three days straight.
"I have some leftovers for dinner tonight," mused Jaune, "I can go take a 30-minute nap, heat up the leftovers, and still have time for the next one."
With that, Jaune made sure the front door was locked before falling asleep on a chair.
"...une...aune... Jaune!"
"Huh? What! I'm awake!" shouted Jaune, suddenly opening his eyes in a panic.
He quickly blinked to clear his vision to see Junior standing over him, a look of concern in his eyes. Though the door had been locked, Junior was the landlord, and thus had a copy of the key.
"You okay?" asked Junior as he held out his hand, "You look like you've been working too much."
"No, I'm fine, just needed to take a little nap," yawned Jaune before looking at his Scroll, noticing it was already 7:30 PM.
"Oh shoot! I'm sorry, let me get ready!" exclaimed Jaune as he tried to jump up, only to suddenly feel woozy from standing up too fast.
"Whoa, don't get up that fast on my account," said Junior quickly as he caught Jaune's arm to support him.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," stated Jaune quickly, "Go ahead and shower, I'll be with you in a moment."
Just as Jaune said this, his stomach growled fiercely, causing him to blush for a second.
"As I said, there's no rush," offered Junior, "I brought dinner with me. My nieces were a little worried that you weren't eating enough... which apparently they were right to do so. Eat up first."
Junior pushed Jaune upstairs, carrying styrofoam boxes on his other hand before forcing Jaune to sit down on his chair. Placing the styrofoam box in front of Jaune, Junior sat across from him, opening up his own box.
"I had to work late today, so I figured I'd join you for dinner," grunted Junior, "Go on, eat up. We can always do the massage at a later time."
Jaune's stomach growled once more before Jaune decided to dive in. He opened the box to see slow-cooked roast pork over mashed potatoes, covered with gravy and herb-roasted carrots and celery. On the side was a cup of chicken noodle soup. The smell of it crumbled the last piece of resistance in Jaune before digging in.
"Seriously, if you're tired, we can reschedule," offered Junior as Jaune pressed down on his back.
"I'm fine. After that nap and filling dinner, I have more than enough energy for this," replied Jaune, "Plus, I have to thank you somehow."
"As long as you're not overworking yourself," grunted Junior, feeling a knot unravel with the warmth of Aura surging through.
Jaune didn't respond as he kept up with his work, finding another knot behind the scapula. In all seriousness, though, he was considering taking one of the days off of doing Aura massage or taking the day off altogether. Perhaps on Monday, he would take out the option of Aura massage, or reduce it down to just two per day.
"How's reconstruction?" asked Jaune as he began to use his elbow to push through the muscles, infusing it with Aura. He was starting to get used to pouring Aura to wherever he wanted on his body, "Melanie and Miltia mentioned some damages in your club.
"Not bad. Got all the windows replaced and the floor fixed finally after upgrading it to be able to tank a bit more damage after that last fiasco. The insurance company tried to weasel out of paying for damages, stating some bullshit reason for how I wasn't covered for such damages and other stuff. Took me a while to get the extra lien to cover the initial cost," moaned Junior, not even trying to shake off the tingly feeling up his spine as Jaune ran his knuckles alongside it.
"Seriously, get some extra sleep alright?" advised Junior as he checked his tie to make sure it was straight.
"I'll be fine, after that filling meal, I should be good," waived off Jaune, "Though I might actually take off Aura massage on one of the days. I should be fine after that."
Junior nodded as he paid his bill, ignoring Jaune's protest that he didn't need to after treating him to dinner. Just as he was about to leave, though, there was a knock on the door.
"You expecting anyone?" asked Junior, turning to Jaune, who shook his head. Taking a cautious step, Junior opened the door to see one of his henchmen standing in front of the door, carrying a little brown bag.
"Ah, that's right, I called one of you guys over," muttered Junior as he took the bag, opening it up to reveal a small powder packet.
"Here, take this with water when you're about to go to sleep," advised Junior as he passed the packet to Jaune, "It's a bit of a pick me up. Helps boost Aura recovery for a little. It's ill-advised to take it if someone has small Aura reserves, which is usually the case for people who just had their Aura unlocked. But considering yours is freakishly large... you'll be fine. Can't use this too much, though. Toxic in large quantities and all and hard to get."
Jaune thanked Junior, who patted Jaune on his shoulder before leaving, reminding him that rent would be due soon, though Junior wasn't worried. Jaune had been an excellent tenant, always paying his dues on time.
"Boss, you sure about that?" asked Junior's minion, "Isn't that powder a Xiong family secret recipe? One that you didn't want to be known to possibly other Huntsmen and Huntresses?"
Indeed, the powder was a secret recipe that only Junior knew how to make. Even his nieces didn't know the ingredients of it, only that it existed. It was what he used to recover so fast from Yang's little rampage in his club.
"I trust Jaune enough that he won't share it with other people," shrugged Junior, "Or rather, he's too naive to think that the powder is a secret recipe. Probably thinks that it's some sort of supplement. Plus my nieces like him. You really think it's a good idea not to help him?"
The minion quickly shook his head in fear of the Malachite twins before quickly following Junior.
At the same time, Roman was mumbling about all the incompetent animals he had to work with. How hard was it to get some good help nowadays!? First, he tried Junior's men, and while the first few heists went smoothly, it ended up being completely derailed thanks to some girl whom he was going to name Little Red, as well as Glynda Goodwitch. Then, due to his employer, he had to use White Fang members. Roman had mixed feelings about using them, of course. They worked better than humans at night with their night vision, he had to admit. But the cons didn't justify it. They were cocky, loud, constantly disobeyed orders because he was a human, didn't know what a proper leash was, and smelled. Sure he fired harsh words at them, but he needed to show them who was the damn boss! The only people he could really trust was Neo... with Jaune surprisingly coming second. Not that it was a close second, mind you, but at least he could talk to Jaune. And no, it wasn't because of those failed transcripts which hurt his pride.
"I need another Aura massage," muttered Roman as he fell down on his chair, "I already made an appointment for that White Fang Lieutenant, Gray, to convince him not to hurt the place, but I really want to just take his spot instead. These idiots are giving me more knots than Neo at an all you can eat ice cream store."
"What's this about a massage?" spoke a seductive voice, causing Roman to stiffen at his seat.
Roman slowly turned his swivel chair around to see Cinder standing in front of the doorway, her hips swaying as she walked forward. Roman had to admit, Cinder was hot... in both a figurative and literal sense. Meaning that if he had a choice, he would've stayed far away from her. Unfortunately, she was currently his employer.
"Oh, nothing," whistled Roman, hoping to change the subject. Unfortunately, Cinder decided to make it the topic as she walked forward, leaning towards him while putting one hand on the chair to support her weight, the other hand hovering in front of Roman on purpose.
Roman knew that while it seemed harmless and seductive, with her posture showcasing her curves, he paid attention to the hand in front of him, which could kill him, whether by stabbing or burning.
"On the contrary, Roman, I'm quite interested," said Cinder, "I've heard quite a few things about some new massage clinic. About how a certain underground boss has invested quite a bit in it, as well as gaining the interest of Beacon's staff. Of how Neo seemed to be so much happier yesterday after going to such a place. Or that you scheduled a certain White Fang member to go there. Why I've ventured to say that you might like this place."
"He's just one of my customers from my side business. Nothing else," stated Roman, hoping to divert the topic once more. Cinder, however, wasn't letting go.
"Oh? And do tell what his involvement with you is. I prefer to know who my employees interact with in case there is... conflict," said Cinder airily.
Roman cursed up a storm in his mind, but maintained a calm visage, using his years of experience to deal with the situation.
"It's nothing. One of the jobs I did for him didn't fall through correctly, so I helped him with this instead. I just go check up on him to make sure that he's doing well. Can't have him fail... well at least I have to make sure the reason that it falls isn't because of me. I have my pride as a professional, you know? Not to mention I get a portion of the profit, as well as a personal masseur that knows what he's doing."
"Is that so?" mused Cinder before pushing herself off, walking away from Roman.
Roman let out a sigh of relief, thinking it was over when...
"And Roman? Do see if you can't get me an appointment soon. Maybe two days from now at night, or perhaps earlier?"
Roman could only curse his luck while mentally sending an apology to Jaune.
Jaune yawned as he woke up the next morning, feeling much more refreshed than before.
"Wow, that powder really worked!" exclaimed Jaune as he clenched and unclenched his fist, feeling much more limber, "Too bad Junior said this only works in small amounts, otherwise I'd be taking this every day."
Jaune quickly tossed some bread into the toaster before heading into the bathroom to shower.
"C'mon Weiss! We had this appointment booked as soon as it became available! Aren't you interested in this Aura Massage? Yang and Blake were talking all about it, and the professors at Beacon seemed really eager to go again," declared Ruby as she dragged Weiss towards Elysium Oasis.
"Ruby Rose, let me go," hissed Weiss, "I am interested, but I can walk myself! There is no need to rush over like you wanted to. We have plenty of time to get there before our appointment time!"
Ruby paused as she pulled out her scroll, noticing that they were 20 minutes early.
"Oops," blushed Ruby as she let go of Weiss, "Sorry, I guess I was just too excited about this."
"I can tell," deadpanned Weiss as she smoothed her skirt, "But wasn't the last time you came here, you did a hot stone treatment only? Are you willing to let him actually touch you?"
Ruby stopped as she shyly tapped her index fingers together in front of her before replying, "Well, I'm a bit more willing with so many people saying it's good. Plus, I'm not a little girl anymore! I trust Jaune not to do anything rude!"
Ruby turned around, stomping towards the clinic when she paused and turned back around.
"Wait a minute. You've never let Jaune touch you either, so you don't have any ground to stand on either!" accused Ruby.
Weiss looked away, finding the street sign more interesting than looking at Ruby. She wasn't going to tell her that she had actually gone to apologize to Jaune and gotten a head massage from it. In fact, she was rather looking forward to the Aura massage and maybe another head massage.
Almost by chance, as the two girls took another step forward, they both winced as the gastrocnemius muscle throbbed in pain. Both girls had pulled a leg muscle in a 2v2 sparring match against some other team. They had won, but both girls could only just try to power through the pain afterward.
"Let's hope we can get Jaune to magic this away," whimpered Ruby as the two trodded towards the clinic.
As it turned out, both girls loved the fact that Jaune was able to chase away the pain so easily as he kneaded the leg muscles. The girls had chosen the indoor option, thus letting Elen take her client to the roof. Though there was one thing that was concerning for Jaune.
"You girls sure about this?" asked Jaune, "Wouldn't it be better if I did one of you after another?"
The reason for this question was because Jaune was currently standing in between the beds that Weiss and Ruby were laying on, with one hand on each of the girl's legs, kneading the muscle. In short, he was doing both of their massages at the same time.
"It's fine," slurred Ruby, enjoying Jaune's ministry, even if he was only paying half the attention he usually did, "Dis feels soooo good."
"I'll admit that using Aura in a massage is quite ingenious," hummed Weiss, relishing this new and unique experience.
She would've preferred if Jaune had given her his full attention, but she didn't complain as it had been Ruby who whined about wanting to go first until she came up with this compromise. Not only that, but her mind was rather focused on something else. Namely, Jaune's Aura reserves.
Under the best tutors money could buy, Weiss was further ahead in education than most of Beacon's first-year students. Grimm studies, history, dust usage, and mixture, etc. The only subject she wasn't in first was combat training, to which she didn't begrudge as Pyrrha took that spot. Among the tide of subjects was Aura manipulation, as her Semblance mainly focused on using it. Though not as proficient as the professors, she could sense someone's Aura reserve to a point. The professors could sense it without much effort, but for Weiss, she was only able to tell due to the fact that Jaune was touching her skin and actively using Aura and streaming it into her body for the massage.
'How does he have so much Aura?' screamed Weiss mentally in her mind. She hadn't really thought about it, but considering the amount of Aura he was using at this moment, and doing it three times a day, it was vastly bigger than her own reserves.
Weiss had originally thought the amount of Aura poured into these massages were nominal. She had thought the Aura reserves Jaune had matched someone who just started combat school, not something that neared the professors at Beacon.
'If only I had that much Aura,' huffed Weiss, going into her own thoughts.
The majority of her attacks were mostly a mixture of Dust application and Aura manipulation. She had worked hard on making sure her attacks used the least amount of Aura needed so as to not run out of steam in the long run. Weiss had to admit, though, in terms of Aura reserves, hers was nowhere close to Jaune's size. If she had such reserves, then she could relentlessly attack her opponents without worry.
Sure her reserves would grow larger with time, but she doubted she could ever reach Jaune's reserve size, and if she did, it would be a long time before she reached it.
'Some people just have the luck,' sighed Weiss, pondering about the future. With his reserves and her Semblance, the said person would likely become one of the most powerful people in the world.
Suddenly a stray thought came through her head.
'Maybe if we had a child... What am I thinking!?' screeched Weiss in her head as she violently slammed her head down into the bed.
"Whoa, did I hit a stray muscle nerve?" asked Jaune nervously.
"No, no, just something that popped into my head that I needed to get rid of," mumbled Weiss, not wanting to lift her head up.
Jaune shrugged before continuing with his work, causing both girls to moan out in pleasure. In the end, Jaune shifted his attention to Ruby first, focusing on her shoulders before switching to Weiss, focusing on her arms.
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